A WEED IS A SEED

Age Range: 4 - 7

In a rhyming book, Wolff (The Emperor's Garden, 1994, etc.) looks at everyday things from opposing points of view. A person may think, ``A weed is a seed/that just doesn't belong/in the place where it happens to grow.'' To a hungry mouse, though, the weed is a welcome meal. Rain spoils a picnic but waters a farmer's crops. Leaves are a nuisance to rake but fun to jump in. Wolff's verse sings right along, drawing comparisons until readers will be ready to jump in with their own dual observations. In her first book, Pedersen offers lighthearted watercolors that play up the humor of the contrasts, cartoonish without ever lapsing into silliness. Jolly. (Picture book. 4-7)